Puzzle Still Active.....or Not?

I found my puzzle book after being away from it for a while, and wondered where we stand. Has anyone solved the puzzle? Is the puzzle still active? Has there been any confirmation from the authors that the prize is still available? Anything? I see there has been very little activity on the puzzle in a long time.

How can we know that the puzzle is still active if there hasn't been any confirmation from the authors?

Unfortunately, this feels a lot like "Grandpa Thrifty's Treasure Hunt," and some of us are still feeling burned from that one. The author didn't sell as many books as he expected to sell, so he stopped participating and stopped responding to emails. The rules of the hunt said that a full solution would be published after the end date, but the puzzle ended last year and the website went offline without ever giving us a solution. It honestly wouldn't surprise me if the author went out and removed the prize token before the end date, just to ensure that he wouldn't have to pay out the prize.

I'd be interested in working on this one, but I'm not going to shell out the money to buy the book unless there's some active confirmation from the authors that they are still participating.

I still love the idea of this puzzle and having spent about a week now, reviewing it, I am going to give it another try. I did write, on their website last week, to see if I could get a confirmation if the puzzle was still active, but have not received an answer. I hope they will be kind enough to give us a yes or no. I see that 57 people have at least read this thread, and two of you have responded, so that gives me hope that there is still interest in the puzzle. Thank you for responding.

Go read the sticky at the top of the page regarding author responds to email. Some people claim to have gotten a response, some not. I never got any response to the several emails I've sent over the years.

I'm also still looking. I visit often (for the hikes, the food, the scenery, and of course, the hunt!) but so far, still coming up empty.

I have wondered about the stability of the location of the key - so much can change over 13 years, is it possible that the location no longer exists in the condition it was when they hid the key?

I've been going to Bar Harbor for years, but especially in recent years, so much has changed. Park boundaries have moved; roads have been altered & widened; power lines have been dug up and moved; monuments, memorials and historic ruins have been moved or access changed; areas that were previously open to the public now have No Trespassing signs posted. I have even noticed when comparing photos from 2007 to the location now, many ruins have deteriorated and there are cracks there now that were not there in 2007, and some that were there then that have now been repaired or filled in. Trees have blown or been cut down. The list goes on.

If, as the book says, 1) we are to break no laws, 2) the key is not hidden on private property, and 3) "no monument or structure needs to be moved, altered or otherwise disturbed in any way," that limits where the key can be hidden. We have had long debates here on tweleve on whether the key could be inside Acadia park boundaries, but that would be breaking the law. Because of the danger of people going off trails and destroying fragile plants, digging holes, moving rocks, etc. not to mention getting hurt or lost, they have strict rules about geocaching and/or hiding objects in National Parks.

I recently found some notes I took on Pel's interview. Here is some of what he said:

MDI was selected because of it's varied landscape - mountains, ponds, lakes, rocks, beaches, forest, a natural fjord, Acadia Park, trails, carriage roads, etc. The hunt should be fun, but the location should be fun as well.

Although they incorporated as much history into the story as they could, the whole hunt is contained within the book. Although I have not adhered to this, he stressed that no internet or other research is needed. To me, this means the history, although interesting, is not relevant to the solution of the Master Riddle.

He said to looks at everything in both the illustrations and the text - some things may be helpful, others not, but some may verify you are doing things correctly.

Someone asked whether there were smaller puzzles within the Master Riddle. He answered that there are different components that all need to be put together. He stressed that the text is as important as the illustrations and that we will know when we have the solution - there will be no question about the location. Basically, if you solve the Master Riddle, you will have the answer.

It is possible that someone could accidentally stumble on the key, but they cannot claim the prize without contacting them for further instructions. If a searcher feels they have the right location, but the key is not there, the searcher should contact them. If they are correct and whoever found the key has not contacted them, they can claim the prize. Pel said he checks the key's location about once a ye

In 2011 Genetic Blend sent them a message on their website and they replied, "the hunt is still on", and in 2014, Puma Lion received a similar answer. I emailed them a while back and got the same answer, although I can't remember how long ago it was. They do not answer questions that might give someone an advantage, or go on tweleve or other treasure-hunting sites.

I've only been to Mount Desert Island once, for about 4 days, but hope to go again soon. I really want to feel that I have a place or two that I feel good about looking when I go. I totally don't think the key is in the park. I, too, listened to Pel's interview, looked closely at his website, and in the past week, have reread this entire forum from the beginning. I actually am disappointed in how little information I can have gleaned from the forum for such a long length of time. You are so correct on how things have changed. But, I think as carefully as he wrote the book, he would have taken that into account. I wouldn't expect Pel to answer any questions about the puzzle, but I would think, after this length of time, he would at least make an attempt to let us know if the puzzle is still a go. It's certainly not professional to not do so.

I plan on working on the puzzle a little while each evening, especially during the hot summer months. Hopefully I can follow some of the leads I have been working on and they will take me somewhere. I'm trying to look at the book in a totally different way than I did before, and actually am finding some items of interest. If it doesn't work, though, at least I had fun trying. I hope more people will hop aboard and we can bounce some ideas around. But, they may have moved on to bigger and better things. Me personally, I would rather stick with the familiar than to start something new.

rarbowen,
I agree. This may be a lost cause, but I'm having fun working on it. And it's always fun to visit MDI. The one thing that stood out when I was re-reading my notes on the interview is when he said the hunt should be fun, but the location should be fun too. What location is fun, and a place that has not changed in the past 10 years, is not private property, and where we can follow all laws and rules? If we apply all of these criteria, it should narrow the possibilities! I did find a location that meets all criteria, but I've visited it a couple of times and found nothing so far.